Genome Size Variations in Diploid African Coffea Species

Genome size diversity in coffee

Modern flow cytometric methods incorporating internal standards and appropriate experimental designs can be used to identify differences in genome size as small as 0.03 pg. Noirot et al. (709-714) examine 15 african Coffea species that include six new taxa and find interference from a variable caffeine content. True genome sizes are estimated after taking this interference into account and are related tentatively to adaptive traits and speciation.